WebMD Wins "People's Voice" Webby

For the second year in a row, we've been awarded the prestigious Webby "People's Voice" award for health sites. This is your award. You voted for us, and all of us here at WebMD know how important that is -- because it is your voice that matters.

Every day we work to ensure you get the best health information - from basic answers and community support to wellness information and the latest health news - so that WebMD can be your daily source of inspiration and better health.

The Webby Awards only go to "the best of the Web." You can rely on us to maintain that standard every day - with you in mind.

Thanks again!
Your WebMD Staff

Let's Twitter at WebMD. Tweet! Tweet!

Do you Twitter? Twitter is a service that allows you to communicate and stay connected with your family, friends, and now with us -- your WebMD family. Tweets are short messages -- 140 characters or less -- making it so easy to read and stay connected.

Our moderator Louise tweets some of the message board threads she starts, as well as threads of interest from a number of WebMD boards, including Crohn's and Colitis, Diabetes Type 1 and Type 2, and Alternative Health.

You can follow her at LouiseWebMD.

Our moderator Kathy, tweets about autism threads on our Autism Support Board, as well as about bits of her life, and other autism stories from around the Web. You can follow her at Kathy_WebMD.

Not only that...get quick and early news about WebMD blog posts by our Health Professionals by following WebMD_Blogs.

Join us in Twittering around the Web! You can Twitter your own favorite WebMD message board posts and threads and blog posts, and have others follow YOU!

Tweet, tweet!
Leona

New Autism & Saving Money Boards at WebMD

Hello Readers!

I'm here to announce two important new boards in the WebMD Community:

First, we welcome the Autism: Support Group board to the WebMD family!

If you have a child with Autism, suspect your child may be on the Autism spectrum, or know someone close to you who does, this new board is wonderful resource. Parents of kids with Autism, Aspergers, or anywhere on the spectrum can gather here and share their stories, vent their feelings, compare ideas, and talk about their amazing kids. And, moms and dads who are in the process of diagnosis will get some great advice here from parents who have already walked that road.

Board hosts Kathy and Rick, who work for WebMD, both have children with Autism. Kathy's son is a teenager, and Rick's is still a little guy, so they each have different perspectives to share with board members.

We hope you'll come by and pay them a visit!

Next, we want to introduce our Saving Money the Health Way message board.

In these uneasy financial times, many families are suffering due to high gas prices, steadily-increasing costs of food, and escalating medical bills. What are we to do?

WebMD has created this board so that members can share their ideas for saving money both on health care and in their daily lives. Members post links to coupons, great articles, talk about money-saving ideas that have worked for them, and more.

Do you have a GREAT idea for saving money? Do you need some help? Come on by the board and join in! We're here for you.

See you there!

Leona

NEW WebMD Pregnancy: Week by Week Newsletter

Being pregnant is exciting and scary, tiring and invigorating. For nine months, the miracle of what your body is doing completely consumes your life. So, what do pregnant women want? Information, that's what. They want to immerse themselves in information about their pregnancy, their baby, what to expect once the baby is born, and more. Let's face it, when we're pregnant we can't get enough.

WebMD has added a newsletter to help you quench your thirst for more pregnancy knowledge...Pregnancy Week by Week. And it FREE! Just click the link here in the blog and sign up for your weekly dose of good stuff.

And, if you're pregnant and haven't found the WebMD Pregnancy Community yet, we have a plethora of message boards for you! You can join the group for your Trimester, or if you're 35 and older there's a board for older moms-to-be. Is your pregnancy High Risk? Find the support you need there from others who are having a tougher time.

We hope to see you on the WebMD Message Boards soon!

Happy Holidays!

Oprah Show 10/16: Wake-Up Call For Women

Leading women's health expert Dr. Christiane Northrup will talk about insomnia, weight gain, hot flashes, headaches, menopause and other issues concerning women on The Oprah Winfrey Show this Tuesday, Oct. 16. Get a glimpse into the show, The Big Wake Up Call for Women. For more, visit Oprah.com.

Technorati Tags: women's health, menopause, oprah

WebMD Covers Election 2008

Health care is a big issue in the upcoming 2008 Presidential Elections. You may have already decided which candidate you're going to back and why. But, where does YOUR favorite stand on the important issues surrounding health care in our country?

If you have health problems, are caring for an aging parent, have children, or are dealing with Medicare, then health care is probably high on your list of priorities as the election comes nearer.

WebMD has created a brand new Voice Your Vote: Election '08 message board where you can discuss the election, the candiddates, and the issues with other members.

We hope you'll visit and share your thoughts.

You can start by taking the first poll on our board: What health care issues are MOST important to you? Why?

And, keep an eye out, because our site is going to be announcing even more Election 2008 coverage soon. You're going to LOVE it!

Leona

Policing Your OWN Communities

WebMD message boards are wonderful forums where members find friendship and share ideas. However, there are occasions when a post that is made violates WebMD's Terms and Conditions.

While using our boards you may come across a flame war (a series of insulting posts) or simply a disrupter (called a "troll" in internet-speak because they "troll" message boards or chat rooms simply to cause trouble) or someone trying to sell their products. None of these behaviors are allowed at WebMD, and if any of these things appear on our boards, we want to know about it right away. We rely on our members to help WebMD maintain a safe and comfortable environment where everyone feels at home.

Here are some of the other T&C violations you will want to report:

Spam

Advertising

Personal Attacks

Copyright Infringement

Inappropriate Member Nicknames

Use of inappropriate slang (especially on our sexuality boards) and/or masked/veiled profanity

Members discussing their personal physicians by name or recommending physicians

Members who identify themselves as under 13 year of age

Too much personally identifying information (phone numbers, home addresses, etc)

Posts containing links to inappropriate sites (pornography, etc.)

Posts which are nothing more than erotica or soliciting cyber sex

The best way to handle any board problem is to not reply. Instead, you can help your community by alerting the WebMD Community Moderator staff.

To empower our members with more control in "policing" their own communities here at WebMD, we've recently added a wonderful, new tool which allows members to send alerts simply by clicking on the "report a post" button found on the bottom right corner below each message. The moderator staff will receive a report and will review the post to determine whether or not it violates the WebMD Terms and Conditions. If the message is in violation of our rules, it will be removed along with any replies.



Please keep in mind that you should only report posts that you feel are violations of WebMD's Terms and Condition. Do not report posts simply because you disagree with the information contained within another member's post. Misuse of this tool is detectable.

Thank you for helping WebMD message boards stay on track. It really does "take a village," and we appreciate everyone who helps us to keep our communities a great place to gather together in our quest to stay happy and healthy.